Now Lemmy Explain: Simple Explanation for Complex Topics

One of my own, but posted elsewhere to explain various open source software licenses.

For this, I assume you understand what compilation is.

• MIT and Apache are “Do whatever you want with my code, just give credit with this license file”, but Apache is a bit more detailed and has a bit more on patent clause.
• GPL can be summarized into 2 provisions: “You have to share the source code alongside compiled executables” (.exe for windows), and “if your executables compile with GPL code, then the rest of the code that compiles also has to be GPL licensed” (Which is why some call it a viral license)
• However, the loophole with GPL code is that if you are running anything with GPL code running on a server, you are not distributing the executable if you are only accessing it through a web page, so you don’t have to share the source code, and AGPL closes that loophole by saying “You still have to share the source code for AGPL licensed programs if you are using it as a service”
• Companies hate GPL code since they can’t legally keep modified software close sourced, which means that Facebook won’t be able to develop proprietary extensions for AGPL licensed software like Lemmy or Mastodon.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/853004

> Hello there, and welcome to the Fediverse! Let's get you started. > > This post was created together with many users, intended to help you have an easy start! It has a simple language, and it includes many useful links. > > For your first day here > - > > Hello, newbie user! Lemmy is just like Reddit, but better. Ha-ha. Seriously. But let's not overwhelm you for now. > > This very neat starting guide was written by our beloved admin, @ruud. To avoid confusion, start reading it from the Quick start guide section. > > If you're new to Lemmy, this post will also help you perfectly. > > kbin users can check out this amazing starting guide instead. This is also a nice guide. > > Finding Communities on Lemmy/kBin > > If you finished reading your starting guide, it's time to go find your new favorite communities! Check out these dedicated services: number 1, 2, 3, and 4, and 5! Go have some fun! :D > > For your second day here > - > > Hello again! You're less of a newbie now, and you found some amazing communities! We can start talking about the Fediverse. I hope you didn't forget to read the rules for lemmy.world! > > kBin.social's rules are in this link. > > The Fediverse > > You must've realised that we addressed Lemmy and kBin users differently. And what is this Fediverse people keep talking about, anyways? > > Lemmy and kBin are two different platforms, and they can perfectly interact with each other! This means that they are a part of the federation. And they are only two members of the vast Fediverse. > > What is the Fediverse? video by Framasoft to get a good understanding with visuals! > > As a great lemming once said: Fediverse is basically like a group chat, but for websites. This means that federated websites all agree to share their content with each other, constantly, at the same time. > > Follow this link to view a list of all Lemmy instances. > > Follow this link to open the Fediverse Observer. It is set to show kBin, but you can navigate your way through the site to show any Fediverse platform you'd like. > > For your third day here > - > > That's it! What else do you want? Go have some fun and keep learning along the way! ;)

Modified from what I've posted on our partners at No Stupid Questions:

I've felt that /r/eli5 was some of the best content in the Old Country, but somewhere along the way, it lost the fun aspect it once had. Everything there is so sanitized that it no longer has the feeling of community anymore.

In the age of large language models, getting a simplified summary of a complex idea is pretty much just a copypaste away, and I don't really see the need of having a place for what ELI5 currently is when it can be automated away, but I'm willing to admit that I may be wrong.

Now, the specific issues I have with ELI5 on reddit is that the mods there seem to make and enforce the rules arbitrarily and without any rationale, which just led to serious mod abuse. For example:

• Your answer can't be too short, that's too low effort.
• Your answer can't be too long, that's too specific.
• Your answer can't be for something someone asked before.
• Your answer can't be how you literally explain things to a real 5-year-old, despite that being the very name of the subreddit.

Just ridiculous. And I think we can all do better than that.

My ultimate goal would be having a place for people to explain things that would not be possible for machines, it should be entertaining to read as you learn, instead of making your eyes glaze over, because first and foremost, on Lemmy, we are rebuilding a place specifically for people to get engaged and inspired by each other, because that's what a community is.

(Hatefulness would NOT be tolerated, of course.)

There's overlap between our partners at "No Stupid Question" and "Now Lemmy Explain", of course, but I think the best way to explain it (or, Now Lemmy Explain: ) is that NSQ focuses on getting any answer to simple questions, while NLE focuses on getting simple answers to any question.

I'm mostly expecting that if this works out, NLE will probably be the more casual counterpart to NSQ on lemmy.world, which would be the reverse of the situation on reddit.

So, if you have any topic you'd like to have explained, please make a post there, and we'll all try our best to explain.

Lemme explain with subreddits.

You have /r/tech and /r/technology, right? Different subreddits, different communities. Somebody posts something on /r/tech and crossposts it to /r/technology. You’re subscribed to both. You now see the same link twice.

That’s exactly what’s happening here, cross-posting to different communities. It’s still the wild west out here, but I would expect a lot of these communities to solidify behind 2-3 “winners” over time, with the smaller ones becoming more niche.

@Barbarian@sh.itjust.works

A lot of mods are community founders. They care about their community, not reddit. Reddits just a middleman getting in the way.

Imagine a group of friends. Reddit is the friend with the best house for parties, but is kind of a dick. The mods are the social ones that brought this friend group together in the first place. Reddit is being stupid and making dumb rules that mostly hurt the mod. The mod is trying to either get reddit to relax the rules OR convince the rest of the friends to leave. Truthfully the friends should leave, but reddit's house is so nice and they’re comfortable. The mod could leave, but they’re afraid all that will result in is losing their entire friend group. The whole situation sucks all around.

by Greenskye@lemmy.world

As our community's name suggests, this is a place where "Lemmy" explains, and there are a lot of other places on Lemmy where people do a great job explaining things.

In the spirit of cooperation, here's Rule 5:

If you see someone else do a great job explaining a particular topic, you are encouraged to cross-post it here, but be sure to credit the original poster for their contributions.

Thoughts?

If this community gets bigger, we're going to need a community icon and banner. So, please put your idea in the comments below, and the highest upvoted ones will be the new community icon/banner for the next few months. (Again, within reason of course)